Senior Director, Biostatistics
The Senior Director, Biostatistics provides strategic, technical, and operational leadership for biostatistical activities across one or more clinical development programs. As a senior statistical leader and cross-functional partner, this role leads statistical activities across the drug development lifecycle, including protocol development, authoring of statistical sections of protocols, development of statistical analysis plans, oversight of statistical analyses and deliverables, interpretation and communication of clinical trial results, and preparation of clinical study reports, regulatory documents, manuscripts, and scientific presentations. The Senior Director provides statistical leadership for global regulatory submissions and health authority interactions, ensuring that clinical development programs are supported by scientifically rigorous, operationally feasible, and innovative statistical strategies aligned with program and corporate objectives. The role requires strong communication skills, scientific leadership, self-motivation, and a strategic and forward-thinking approach. Experience in rare disease drug development is desirable.
This role is based in Waltham, MA.
Primary Responsibilities Include:
Serve as the senior biostatistics lead and subject matter expert for assigned clinical studies, programs, and development initiatives
Provide statistical leadership and strategic input into program-level decision making, clinical development plans, study design, endpoint selection, analysis strategies, interpretation of clinical data, and regulatory interactions
Partner closely with Medical, Clinical Development, Regulatory, Safety, Clinical Operations, Data Management, Statistical Programming, Translational Medicine, Program Management, and other cross-functional stakeholders to ensure statistical strategies support program and corporate objectives
Lead the statistical design of clinical trials, including sample size determination, randomization and stratification approaches, analytical approaches, interim analyses, multiplicity strategies, sensitivity analyses, subgroup analyses, and missing data considerations
Contribute to protocol development, including authoring statistical sections and reviewing study design elements to ensure scientific rigor, operational feasibility, and regulatory alignment
Author, review, or oversee statistical analysis plans and integrated summaries of safety and effectiveness
Collaborate with Data Management, Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, and Statistical Programming to ensure data collection, eCRF design, and data review activities support planned analyses and regulatory requirements
Develop or oversee the development of table, listing, and figure shells; provide statistical guidance for SDTM and ADaM dataset development; and review analysis datasets, tables, listings, figures, reviewer guides, and associated documentation to ensure high-quality, compliant, and submission-ready deliverables
Provide oversight of CROs, consultants, and external vendors to ensure high-quality and timely delivery of statistical services and outputs
Interpret and communicate clinical trial results to cross-functional teams, senior leadership, external collaborators, and regulatory agencies
Contribute to clinical study reports, briefing documents, DSURs, regulatory submissions, publications, presentations, and other scientific communications
Lead statistical strategy and execution for INDs, CTAs, NDAs, MAAs, BLAs, and other global regulatory submissions, including responses to regulatory authority questions
Prepare for and participate in health authority interactions, including FDA, EMA, and other regulatory agency meetings; address statistical questions and comments from agencies, IRBs, ethics committees, and other external stakeholders
Contribute to inspection and submission readiness by ensuring statistical documentation, datasets, analysis decisions, and outputs are complete, traceable, consistent, well documented, and filed in the TMF in a timely manner
Lead or contribute to standardization, process improvement, templates, best practices, and functional standards within Biostatistics and across cross-functional development teams
Manage, mentor, and develop direct reports and other statistical colleagues, fostering technical excellence, collaboration, accountability, and a high-performing team environment
Education and Skills Requirements:
Ph.D. (or Masters) in Statistics, Biostatistics, or a related quantitative discipline with at least
12+ years of pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry experience
Demonstrated experience leading the design, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of clinical trials across multiple phases of development
Experience supporting regulatory interactions and major health authority submissions, including NDAs, BLAs, MAAs, or equivalent global submissions, and responding to regulatory authority questions
Deep understanding of statistical methodology for clinical development, including design, estimation, inference, missing data, and adaptive methods
Knowledge of FDA, EMA, ICH, and other applicable regulatory guidelines
Strong understanding of CDISC standards, including SDTM and ADaM
Advanced SAS programming skills are required; experience with R is a plus. Ability to perform, review, and oversee statistical analyses
Experience overseeing CROs, consultants, and external vendors
Demonstrated experience leading and developing statisticians through direct management, matrix leadership, or technical mentorship
Demonstrated ability to influence program strategy and cross-functional decision making through communication of statistical recommendations and data insights
Ability to independently prioritize and lead multiple studies, programs, and development activities simultaneously
Strong analytical judgment and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work through ambiguity, assess risk, and recommend practical, scientifically sound solutions
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex statistical concepts and clinical results to technical and non-technical audiences
Experience in rare disease or neuromuscular disease is preferred
Interest in and basic understanding of biology and biological process including ASO and siRNA
#LI-Onsite
MA Pay Range
$250,000—$290,000 USD